The Birch Bayh Federal Building & U.S. Courthouse

1905 structure named for former U.S. senator in 2003

Jan. 10, 2013 3:53 PM

For more than a century they have sat on their pedestals serenely watching the city grow around them. Representing "Literature," "Agriculture," "Justice" and "Industry," the four statues flank the steps of the massively majestic U.S. Courthouse occupying the block bounded by Ohio, Pennsylvania, Meridian and New York streets facing the Chase Tower.

Now called the Birch Bayh Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse -- named for the former U.S. senator in 2003 -- it once housed all federal offices in Indianapolis, but most of them moved up the street to the Minton-Capehart Federal Office Building in 1975. The Post Office moved out in 1973.

The city's first federal building, beginning in 1860, was a four-story stone structure located at the southeast corner of Pennsylvania and Market streets. In 1900, land was purchased, and the following year Philadelphia architechts John Hall Rankin and Thomas Kellogg were hired under a construction bid of $1.3 million.

The building first opened for business on Sept. 24, 1905, but the statues weren't added until 1908. The sculptor John Massey Rhind, a Scotsman-turned-New Yorker who left his mark on public buildings of his era throughout the East Coast and MidWest.

Key Dates:

March 25, 1903: The original cornerstone is laid down at the northeast corner of the building. Sept. 24, 1905: The new U-shaped building opens for business. It houses all Indianapolis offices of federal agencies under one roof, including the main Post Office, two federal courtrooms, the United States Marshal's Office and the U.S. Attorney's office. Also during this year, stained-glass windows designed by Heinigke & Bowen are installed. Otto Heinigke was a student of Louis Comfort Tiffany. 1908: Four seated allegorical statues representing Industry, Agriculture, Literature and Justice, sculpted by John Massey Rhind, are installed. 1911: The system of Circuit Courts is abolished, causing the East Courtroom to remain unused, except as a storage room, until 1954. 1935-1936: Nine murals by Grant Christian, a local artist commissioned by the Treasury Relief Art Project, which gave artists work during the Depression, were painted in the southwest corner of the third floor. The murals show scenes of Indianapolis history and Midwestern life during the 1930s. August 1936: Construction begins on a north addition, designed by architects McGuire & Shook. The new addition adds 2,054 square feet of workspace for the Post Office. 1938: Construction on the north addition is completed, turning the formerly U-shaped building into a square. 1954: A second Southern District judge is named, and the East Courtroom is put to use once again. 1974: The building is added to the National Register of Historic Places.